Hickey, the word itself brings disgust and discomfort to most people. But why? Why is a mark on the skin so taboo? We are in the year 2016, all eligible U.S. citizens can vote, homosexual equality is sweeping the nation, even after American’s dark past; we still elected an African American president. Tolerance is at an all time high in this great country, but still hickeys are off limits in all social and most personal situations. Sex is out there, people funk, naughty tango, Netflix and chill, whatever you want to call it. And yet people talk about sex like it is Sunday school chatter.
A hickey is nothing but a group of broken capillaries created by suction from the mouth or biting. Because blood flows throughout the entire human body you can literally get them anywhere and everywhere. Hickeys, for some people, are so easy to get that even the slightest attention will make one appear, this just means your body has great blood flow and healthy iron levels. Usually speaking, these are shared between lovers or people deep in a romantic relationship. What you do in your love life is your business and some peoples' fetishes are far more dark than a little abrasion on the neck. This being said, people do not flaunt their chains and whips to the public for everyone and their mother to see. A hickey is so harmless to the public, if you do not agree with it, don’t look. They are not gross, or trashy, or even dangerous, they do not make the carrier any less respectable than you are. If anything, people should envy a hickey. The symbolism alone behind that little love mark is so strong and speaks very deeply for the carriers relationship and self esteem.
Of coarse, a little hazing from friends and family is sure to happen such as, “What’s that on your neck? Been wrestling a vacuum?“ or “Ouch that muffler burn looks pretty bad, does it hurt?“ There is no reason for name calling or trash talking someone who has a hickey. What a person does with their personal life is their business. If I were to be punched in the face or even got a little poison ivy, it is never brought up in discussion until a person gets the nerve to ask if you're okay and what happened. But I walk into the store, work or a party with a hickey and people look at me like I have sold my soul to the devil.
Hickies are also a way of marking your “bae“ (of course this is a completely unorthodox method of showing that you are taken by your lover, compared to a ring or other jewelry). They also help keep the hungry singles off of you and your partner, nothing binds a relationship more than flesh. That statement usually meaning a baby or starting a family, but I have never met a person trying to hit on me or anyone else when they have hickeys on them. Don't be so quick to judge and bully the people around you because they aren't afraid to show the love in their life is still exciting and probably more interesting than yours.
